Friends Missing Friends Gone
by blessedbyartemis11
Summary: Nico is missing and Hades is ready to release his rage. Can a daughter of of Aphrodite find him? Adopted from WyomingCH. Rated T for minor swearing. ON HIATUS
1. An Old Friend Comes To Visit

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Percy Jackson. Story idea WyomingCH.**

I sighed and slumped in my seat. The boy imitated a call sign. I rolled my eyes at him and slammed open my textbooks. He gave up and turned to face the front of the class.

Okay, I guess I should explain. First, I know that I'm a demigod. A daughter of Aphrodite. My name is Cheyenne. My father had the guts to tell me and then I enrolled in sword fighting classes after encountering my first monster. And then on top of it all, we had to move to Michigan. Away from my beloved New York. It was to "protect" me, but I didn't need protecting. Sure I was beautiful and a daughter of Aphrodite, but I was also my father's child. Aaron could take care of himself and it's where I got my temper. Ironically enough, it's what most guys liked about me. I always carried a chain necklace around my neck(hello, it's a necklace) that had a crescent moon on it. When I squeezed it, it shifted in to a longbow that could shoot 6 arrows at once. At home my walls were lined with lethal demigod weapons that would give most people a heart attack. Second, wherever I went and at school, all of it, the Mist parts. So everybody knows monsters attacks me. And lemme tell you: it's soooo annoying. Boys think it's hot and girls think I'm showing off. Like I wanted this! But anyway, Percy Jackson once again, screws up my life and totally ruins my day. And the Homecoming Dance.

I watched as the teacher walked to the front of the classroom with 3 kids in tow. A girl lithe and athletic. Built muscular. She had honey blonde hair and stormy grey eyes. She wore a bright orange t-shirt and jeans, normal tennis shoes. The other girl was stocky, and looked really muscular. Like, if the blonde would beat me up easily, this girl would pulverize me. The last kid was a boy. He had black hair and intense sea green eyes. He was built like a god: power, precision, grace, and rage, all in one body. Suddenly my body stiffened. I knew him… And the teacher confirmed it.

"Everybody, I have the pleasure of introducing Annabeth Chase, Clarisse La Rue, and Perseus Jackson. They will be in our class from now on. Take any seat that is empty." Proffessor Walsh said cheerfully. And just my luck, the seat next to me was empty. Percy took it. He flashed me a smile that lit up memories from when we were children in Central Park, our parents talking about how hard it was raising demigods. I felt my breath leave me in a whoosh and I dug beneath my desk for my book, hiding behind it. What was he doing here? How in Hades had he found me? Questions raced through my head, but they were all suddenly silenced when Percy spoke.

"Still hiding from me, Cheyenne? I thought you were past that phase." He whispered. An involuntary shiver racked its way through my body. I hated that I could ignore any guy and all of the affections he threw my way, but if Percy spoke, I shivered with desire and pleasure. How in Hades did he do it? I glanced and him buried my face in my book. I heard his soft chuckles and felt a blush sear across my face. I stayed that way for all of 5th period Geometry. When the bell rang, I gathered all of my belongings in record time. Unfortunately, Percy had always been quicker than me. He stood and blocked my path.

"Percy, what do you want?" I muttered, my blush growing bigger if possible.

"To carry your books, my queen." he replied in an innocent tone. Annabeth arched and eyebrow. The boy next to me snorted.

"Good luck. She's broken every heart in this school and absolutely refuses to let guys carry her things." Percy arched his eyebrow, then ever-so-smoothly pulled my books out of my arms.

"I think she'll make an exception for me. Come on Cheyenne." He said, grabbed my hand, and pulled me into the hallway. I yanked my hand out of his when we got to my locker.

"Oh for craps sake boy, what are you doing here?" I hissed at him. He smiled his heart-breakingly beautiful smile at me and my heart squeezed.

"I can't visit a childhood friend?" he asked with his perfect-down-to-a-science innocent tone. Then I heard his thoughts echo: _and my childhood love?_ So unfair. He knew I'd had a crush on him for like forever and he also knew that I could read minds. And on top of that I knew he DID not like me. So he was freaking TEASING ME! I punched him in the shoulder, making him feign hurt. I couldn't even make him say ow. How unfair is my life? Then the Clarisse girl spoke up.

"How do you two know each other?" she asked. It was clear from Annabeth's face she was wondering the exact same thing.

"We've been friends since we were 5." Percy replied. In my head he thought: _I'm a Son of the Sea God._ I nodded and walked up to Annabeth and hugged her. She looked surprised.

"Oh did he forget to mention to me? Idiot. He's so harebrained sometimes. I can read minds and me and him are practically family. So I can read his mind, see you, know everything he's ever thought about you, stuff like that. I'm just welcoming you to the family." I told her cheerfully. Her eyes narrowed at him suspiciously.

"Things he's ever thought about me?" she asked. Percy backed up. I stifled a giggle. Finally, a girl who could pound him.

"Stuff we need to talk about in the near future. But right now I'm wondering what his stupid butt is doing here with two girls who scare the crap outta me."

"We need your help." Clarisse said suddenly, in response for my question. I whipped around to face Percy, who skittered back several steps, knowing that if I was calm, I wouldn't (or couldn't) hurt a fly. But if I was upset, I would break faces.

"Came to visit an old friend? Childhood love? Do you enjoy toying with me!" I snapped in the language we'd invented as children. "You couldn't give me a straight answer once in your life when I asked you a question!"

"Cheyenne, don't be like that. You know my feelings." He murmured. I furiously blinked tears away and threw my back against my locker. I knew the tears were coming and I didn't want them to. But I couldn't stop them. I dimly heard Percy asking Clarisse and Annabeth to wait outside. Then her crouched by my side and cradled my head. He leaned down to whisper in my ear the three things I desperately needed to hear and hadn't heard since we were children.

"My queen, my goddess, my inspiration." He whispered. I replied with a second instinct.

"My brother, my player, the girl slayer." I whispered back. He smiled against my ear. I cleared my throat. "So, what do you need help with, my prince?"

He laughed. "Well, it's kinda serious and the entire camp says that a daughter of Aphrodite can't help, but you are an awesome daughter of Aphrodite. I need someone to find Nico and you are the best tracker I know."

"Who is Nico? And why is this so serious?"

"Nico di Angelo is a son of Hades. If he's dead, Hades is going to start slaying demigods until he learns who did it. And then it's all out open-season on godlings. So if he's alive, bring him back in one piece." He said. I considered it.

"Do I have to go to that lame camp?"

"Don't insult the camp, its home to a lot of demigods. And yes, you'll have to prove what an awesome tracker you are."

I tried not to groan. But the pleading in Percy's eyes sliced through my denial. "Alright. I'm in." I said. He smiled, and then pulled me to my feet. Panic spiked in me. Tonight? Right now? Today?

"Percy, today? Today's the Homecoming Dance!" I tried not to whine. He smiled.

"When is it?"

"Tonight at 7-11:00PM."

"Alright, because you are a friend, I will try to see if I can bunk overnight with the excuse of having to pack your stuff." He said after a slight hesitation.

I tried to hold in a squeal, but couldn't. I ended up letting out a real loud squeal and hugging Percy so hard he started to choke. Just then I heard Annnabeth's loud voice say "Percy?"

He quickly backed up and said "Annabeth, it's not what it looks like!"

"I think I know what I'm seeing Perseus!" she snapped, clearly upset. I read her mind and understood instantly. She was in love with Percy and thought I was trying to steal him away and thought that Percy was willing to come with me and not her.

"Annabeth, how much did you hear?" I asked frantically.

"Enough." She snapped, viciously glaring at me. I closed my mouth as she addressed Percy. "And you-we're through. I thought you were decent, but apparently you just can't wait to cheat on4 a daughter of Aphrodite behind my back after I admitted my love for you, took a knife for you, and fought Kronos by you! I-I-I can't look at you right now. I and Clarisse will be back at Camp. See you there." And with that she stomped off. Percy tried to call after her but all he got was a dirty look from Clarisse. I stood behind, on the brink of tears again.

"Percy, I'm sorry. So sorry." I choked. He shrugged it off. I could see it tore him up. But he just shrugged and smiled that smile I loved so much. He tucked me under his arm and I led him to my new house.


	2. A Hot Demigod Hits on Me

Percy walked in the door and inspected my house. It wasn't like the tiny apartments in NYC. Here, I had a huge house, with a giant bedroom, 5 acres of land surrounding my house, and tons of animals. I watched his face, then laughed.

"Does my house pass inspection?" I asked. He turned and smiled at me and it was again so handsome that I couldn't stop a smile. His smile faltered.

"Still?" He asked.

"Always," I replied. An awkward moment of silence followed until he spoke.

"Can I see what you're wearing to the Homecoming Dance?" He asked. I smiled, grabbed his hand and then dragged him to my bedroom. I led him in and then closed the door. On the back of the door hung my Homecoming dress. And I loved it. It was a black silk halter top with intricate sewing patterns, trimmed with black lace. Lining the top around my neck were deep royal blue crystals that glinted in the light just right. It fell all the way to the ground, but not in the puffy princess way. More like in between. And on the back instead of a zipper to close it was string. It laced its way across my back to show a lot of skin. It had taken forever to convince my step-mom to buy it for me, but the $1,000 dress was well worth the trouble. He breathed down my neck as he came up behind me.

"It's…pretty." He said. I whipped around to look at him.

"Pretty? You sure have a way with words. Can you imagine what I'm going to look like in this?" I asked. Suddenly, I got a glimpse into his mind and apparently, he could imagine what I'd look like. That's not all he could imagine.

"Whoa…Percy." I muttered. He flushed bright red. I glanced at the clock and it read 4:00P.M. So I had about 3 and ½ hours until the dance.

"At least you'll look gorgeous." He muttered. I dug deeper into his mind and Annabeth had said the exact same thing that I did. I let out a huge sigh as I remembered the second requirement to get into Homecoming.

"Yeah, but no one will get to see." I muttered. "You have to have a date to get in and mine canceled last minute. So I can't go." I sat down heavily on my bed and stroked the dress, fiddling with the delicate patterns. At least I don't have to shop for a prom dress now, I thought glumly. Suddenly Percy spoke a great, and I mean _great_ suggestion.

"I'll go with you. I go to school there now. I could go to Homecoming. I'm already staying the night and we both need dates if we're gonna go. Besides, Annabeth broke up with me and I'm officially going to be killed by every cabin at camp. If I'm going to Hades, might as well enjoy life."

I mulled it over. Then smiled. "Let's do this."

So I bounded downstairs and pulled out a white dress shirt of my dad's, a black tuxedo top, black dress slacks and a royal blue tie. I went back upstairs and gave them to Percy. We both knew my dad wouldn't mind and my step-mom would just make me wash them before I leave. They'd both be so happy to see Percy and that I was finally getting a love life that they wouldn't care what we were doing, where we were going, and how late we'd be out. And they treated Percy like a second child, so no quirks about him staying with us.

My mom came home at about 5:30 and we had dinner. My dad was a truck driver and was on a run, so he was gone for the week. He'd be home tomorrow, today being Friday.

7:00 came around fast and we both had to get ready quick. We got there, paid the $5 entrance fee and then walked in. Just then, my favorite song, "Evacuate the Dance Floor" by Cascada came on and I had to all but drag Percy to the dance floor.

"Percy, you came with me and I am not dancing to this song alone! Follow my lead!" I said, exasperated.

"It's not my dancing I'm worried about, although it should be. It's all of the girls who might have heart attacks." He told me. I told him to ignore them (and they were practically staring at him 2 feet away) and then dragged him to the dance floor. We danced to that for a while; Percy won $50 while gambling (behind the teachers' backs). All in all, a great night. Just as we were leaving, I heard a loud _WOOOOOOOOOOF_. I looked up in amazement, but Percy groaned.

"What was that?" I asked, looking around. Just then, a huge hellhound the size of a hummer exploded into the parking lot. I jumped back, as did most of the mortals who could see it. The parted veil of Mist tended to destroy my social life like that. Suddenly we had a crowd on our hands. Of course all of the students (who had seen me kill a hellhound before) were waiting for me to whip out my bow and kill it. But Percy stopped me.

"Don't worry. It's Mrs. O'Leary. My hellhound." He said grimly. I looked at him in amazement as he approached the hound from hell. I pulled out my bow to cover his back, but he didn't need it. He commanded her to sit and her gigantic bottom dropped to the ground. He stroked her and murmured to her. Then suddenly a boy walked around from behind her.

"Jeez Percy! Warn me when you do that!" he snapped. Then he saw me. "Is this her? The tracker that was supposed to find me?"

The tracker that was supposed to find me? Then that could only mean one thing. The boy who had come to my homecoming riding a hellhound like a horse, the one I was supposed to find in the morning, was standing in front of me. I'd finally met Nico di Angelo.

He had black hair that stood up in tufts. He was wearing a black army coat and a black Camp Half-Blood t-shirt. He was also wearing black jeans and a skull chain. At his waist was a small black sword. His eyes were dark and shifting, like you couldn't tell if he was insane or a genius. He had tanned skin that looked faded with a small amount of color, like he'd been in Florida or something. He wore complete black clothing and a black sword hung at his side. To sum it up, one hot goth demigod.

"Hi," I said, awkward and self-conscious, "My name is Cheyenne. I'm a daughter of Aphrodite."

He inspected me. "Nico, son of Hades. Too bad you'll never find me. I might actually enjoy that."

I didn't say anything. I'd never experienced a guy actually talking to me like I was a person not just a pretty face (besides Percy). Most guys were too paralyzed by my beauty to hit on me. If he wasn't, I had my work cut out for me. I realized through all of my thoughts, that he and Percy were talking.

"Where in Hades have you been Nico? The entire camp is going into panic overload. You realized that I just sacrificed my relationship with Annabeth to find your stupid butt?" Percy scolded.

"You did what now?" Nico asked. "You gave up _ANNABETH_ to find _ME_? Are you on crack cocaine or something?"

"If I was, I would SO not be here right now. I'd be back at camp with my girlfriend, who broke up with me over this quest."

"This quest? Was it about her?" Nico asked, pointing at me.

"Annabeth was not too happy to find out that one of my closest childhood BFFs was a daughter of Aphrodite. Clarisse sided with her, so my demigod behind is going to get whipped when I get back to camp." Percy said.

"What, you're blaming me?" I demanded.

"In all truth, it is your fault. If you hadn't moved to Michigan, I could have done the quest solo and brought you back with no problems. But no, you had to move as far away as possible." He chided me. I flushed and waited to leave. Before I knew it though, Nico LITERALLY disappeared into the shadows. All of my classmates gasped, but it wasn't all that weird for me. Nico was made of the same stuff that a hellhound was. Shadow travel was one of the tricks in his book.

"What, you're just letting him leave. Aren't you supposed to bring him back?" Rochelle demanded as he left. She knew I was an excellent tracker, so she was genuinely dumbfounded.

"I don't need to keep him with me to know where he is. I have tasted his aura, so I know where he is at all times now." I told her. "C' mon. My mom's here."

And with that, Percy and I left.


	3. I Get A Quest With My Killer

Camp Half-Blood was really boring, but it got better. The entire camp wanted to kill Percy. Except my cabin. The oh-so-wonderful Daughters of Aphrodite said that I'd passed my rites of passage. I didn't know what they were, but if I'd passed them, I assumed it was a good thing. I met Chiron and said a polite hello. He could see that being at Camp was setting my nerves on edge so he gathered all the demigods at the woods and told 3 of them that they had to go into the woods and hide themselves thoroughly. Since I hadn't tasted their auras, I had no clue where they were. But that could change. If I ran into them in the woods, nothing would be able to shake me.

"Are you ready Cheyenne? You have an hour and a half to find Katie, John, and Olivia. Starting now." Chiron said. Percy had told me earlier that they were children of Demeter, so they were really good with the outdoors (duh). I nodded calmly. I knew their names, it was only a matter of time before I tasted their auras. They ran into the woods. I waited until Chiron gave me the okay, and then bolted into the woods.

Okay, I don't like to brag. It ill suits my beauty. But I will this one time. THEY HARDLY EVEN FOUGHT BACK! I found Olivia first and tackled her. She whimpered in surprise and before she knew it, I was dragging her back to the crowd. I dumped her down and charged back into the woods. John was making enough sound to spook a buffalo, so he was just too easy. I found him, he stared at me, and then with a flick of my body, I slammed into him and got him into a half-nelson. But then he ran with the power of a deer and disappeared into the undergrowth. But I'd tasted his aura. But he kept running a over and it tired me out. I looked down at my watch and cursed. Finally I found him in a tree, bending the leaves in a natural way to hide him. I jogged back into the woods and searched for Katie. But she was smarter than her half-siblings. She made no noise, called upon her nature power to confuse me, and sheltered in the trees overhead. I checked my watch and swore. I only had 30 minutes to go. Concentrating, I reached deep inside for my power. I knew her aura was somewhere in this forest and I had to of passed her by now.

Nope. She was well hidden. I smiled as a shadow betrayed her when I opened my eyes. "Well played Katie. But that was a fatal mistake in the real world." I called out. I bolted towards the shadow, just as she leaped for another bush. I moved fast, fast, fast. But shse moved faster and ran ahead, now silent. I cursed again, 10 minutes. I saw her as she jumped down from a tree, I caught her and flipped through the air. We landed with a crash on the ground. I caught the blow she aimed at my head. I threw my hand at her, but apparently she was just as fast. It went on like this for several minutes, each of us exchanging blows to see if we could land a hit on the other. Eventually she gave me an opening, but I knew it was a feint so I feinted myself and she ducked to dodge my feint and hit her on her skull, knocking her out cold. I checked my watch. 5 minutes left until I was declared unfit to track Nico. I picked her up and threw her across my shoulders. I got out of the woods 1 minute after my watch had beeped. Times up.

"You made it, I guess. One minute won't do any harm" Chiron said. I shrugged.

"Yeah, well, I had to chase her everywhere. She just earned my permanent respect." I replied. I felt like I was going to collapse, and for some reason that made me feel alive.

"Why?" asked Percy's friend, Rachel Dare.

"The only person who has ever avoided me for as long she did is Percy and I had to train him for…a long time. She avoided me without knowing me. But now it shouldn't be too hard. I'm a _dokimastis avra_." I replied. There was a lot of oooooohs and aaaaahs and gasping, but I got that a lot whenever I revealed my secret.

"So, does she pass or not?" Percy asked, boredom dripping off of his words.

"Well, we have to see how well she fights. If she can't defend herself she won't be able to go without training and maybe a couple of escorts." Chiron mused.

"I can fight." I said calmly.

"We'll see. Percy is the best sword fighter since Luke, and Luke was the best there's been in 300 years."

"I fight with a bow and a dagger." I replied. "Everyone here knows he fights like a baby with a bow and a dagger. You just said he's a sword person."

"But I did teach you the basics before you left. You fight with a sword as well." Percy said. I frowned at him. It was like he wanted to fight me.

"Don't you remember what happened the last time you tried to fight me? It ended up being the reason I left." I asked, cocking my head slightly. This got a lot of mutters and murmurs, but Percy was famous for ignoring that kind of noise. But I wasn't. It took every ounce of my self-control and then some to stop from screaming "Oh, for the love of the Gods, shut the heck up! What happened 3 years ago is none of your business!"

"What happened?" Sarah from the Apollo cabin asked interestedly. I flinched, remembering our violent last words.

"Nothing." muttered Percy. His thoughts were angry now. Now he needed a fight, not just wanted one.

Chiron was watching out exchange with interest, and then he nodded. "Annabeth will test you. She's fair, no matter what vendetta she has with you. Meet her in the archery field in 20 minutes."

I paled. Annabeth? That crazy rat who wanted me deader than a doornail? Oh HECK to the NO. She was gonna slice and dice me, then call it and accident. I begged Percy with my eyes, but he just shrugged. In fact, I thought I saw a tiny smile playing at the edges of his mouth. That STUPID UNTHOUGHTFUL BOY! He found it funny his recently-ex-girlfriend was going to try and gut me.

_This is too funny_, he thought. I glared at him.

"The heck it is." I snapped. The rest of the kids seemed bewildered by my random reply, but I wasn't in the mood to explain to them. I mean, I was entitled to some secrets.

_What? Oh, is the big and bad Daughter of Aphrodite scared she's going to end up dog food for the first time in her life? I bet you are_, he thought back. I just glared at him. He couldn't stop the smile now. I was tempted to slap him. Breathing deeply, I just stomped back to my cabin to dig through my pack to find my dagger. I pulled it out and marveled at its curves and the hilt. The hilt was my favorite part of the weapon.

Okay first off, know this; I made all of my weapons. From scratch, Okay, partly. I found the materials in the earth, pillaged my other weapons for the celestial bronze. My arrow heads were melted down and I remade them in metal tech. I made my bow in wood tech. I carved my hilt on my dagger ( when I wasn't finished Aphrodite helped me out) and made my blade for it at home in a fire I built in our wood stove.

My bow, fully expanded, was beautiful. It was wavy, like how I pictured my mother's magic if it was visible. It was made of Ebony with lime green and purple paint. Not the best camofluage. In wood tech, it'd cost me $120 and I'd had to work my head off to pay for the supplies. The bow was my most prized possession next to my dagger.

Speaking of, my dagger's hilt was hazelnut. I'd carved a beautiful dove into my handle (with help). Its wings extended out to be the guard on my grip. The dove's head was at the end and I'd made the beak celestial bronze so I could bash heads in with it. I cleaned the blade. On the blade I had etched a string going down it and it had feathers on it, like an Indian braid. I'd done it to remind me of my Cherokee heritage. I brushed it on my jeans and put it in its leather sheath. I clipped it onto my belt and then pulled my quiver out, throwing it over my back. I reached up and my fingers grazed my necklace.

Just then all of my siblings burst in. They saw my weapons and my vacant stare and stopped. "Cheyenne?" Drew asked hesitantly. I snapped back to attention and glanced at them. I stood.

"I'm fine. Just…thinking." I replied. I walked past them when my brother caught my arm.

"Hey, you know Annabeth fights fair, right? You don't have to worry about your guys' _Percy problem_ in the arena. Just keep your mind in the battle." Mitchell warned me.

I rolled my eyes. "That immature little brat doesn't know the half of my past with Percy and if she did she wouldn't have jumped to conclusions. I know I don't have to worry about her."

"And what is your past with Percy? You didn't steal him away? You aren't dating?" Drew asked, her nostrils flaring.

"Gods no! I'm like a sister to him! I'd feel like I'm dating Mitchell! Ew!" I said, horrified at the thought. All of the kids gasped as I pretended to barf.

"Yes! He's free game!" cheered one girl and the entire cabin burst into cheers except for Drew. She screamed for them to shut the h*** up and they all did.

"You guys, if she didn't seduce Percy and steal him away, she hasn't passed her rites. She can both seduce Percy and break his heart, or she can steal someone's BF away, but until then, she's still a child. Anyone talks to her and they have to wear the shoes of shame." Drew instructed. They all suddenly backed away as if I had the plague. Feeling ashamed that I really hadn't passed my rites, I just turned and went to the arena. I was almost there when Lillian, one of my half-sisters, ran up next to me.

"Hey," she stage whispered, "I was just wondering"-

"Thought you weren't supposed to talk to me?" I whispered back.

"Don't tell Drew and there won't be any trouble. I was just wondering what's up between you and Percy." She whispered back.

I began to see people trailing behind, presumably people who could be witnesses about this conversation to my siblings if a few of them weren't already in there. Quickly, I hissed "J'etais presque mort quand il m'a trouve. Il a suave ma vie. Je suis redevable a lui."

I ran away, leaving her to ponder my words. And just in case you don't naturally speak French like me and a cabin full of people I know, I'd told her 'I was almost dead when he found me. He saved my life. I'm indebted to him.'

I jogged into the arena to see Annabeth waiting for me. She looked peaceful, but her thoughts betrayed her. _This bitch will pay for stealing my boyfriend. When she gets back to her new boy-toy, she'll be in pieces_. I stumbled, startled for a moment. I hadn't known such a petite thing could contain such rage. I sighed, shook my head, and then continued.

"Are you alright?" Annabeth asked, perfectly civil. But again, I heard her thoughts. _I hope you heard that, you evil, conniving slut. I will hurt you. Badly. _

"Okay," I told her, "but after this, I have some things to tell you. Are we fighting with knives or bows first?"

"Bows, I want to see your aim."

I yanked my necklace off and squeezed it and it transformed. I notched an arrow and took aim. I breathed deeply, and then fired. It sped towards the target and landed on the ring just outside the center. I notched another and this time I got a bull's eye. I went to notch another one, but Annabeth stopped me.

"If you're that good in two shots, you're a proficient archer." She said. She sounded kind of bored. I nodded and put my bow and arrow away. She led me to the center of the ring and beckoned me. This time I didn't hear her anticipation and excitement, I felt it. She had chosen bows first because she wanted to drag this fight out as long as possible. She'd known I could shoot; Percy had briefed them. She wanted to fight to injure, not test.

Unwillingly stepped in, hating the look in her eyes. She drew her knife and I drew mine. She arched an eyebrow at its design, but nevertheless took a fighting stance and waited for me. I took a minute, but I did too and then she leapt at me. I barely remember the fight since I was too busy dodging blows. She was skilled, I'll give her that. Eventually, I landed on my back, my dagger hilt holding the blunt of Annabeth's blow, Annabeth herself sitting atop my chest. I was sweating bullets and as the blade of her knife began to slide down towards my neck. I began to whimper and strain, but she was REALLY strong.

Then I heard "ANNABETH!" She flinched and rolled off me. I sat up, gasping, to see Chiron on top of the hill. His face was full of disapproval.

"Yes Chiron?" she mumbled.

"Your judgment?" he demanded. Just then, a thought seized me. She didn't have to try to kill me. She would have wounded my ego by pronouncing me unfit and therefore I would need escorts or I might not even go. Why would she try to murder me in the ring in front of spectators?

"She is extremely skilled, Chiron. I'll give her that. If she wants to go solo, she can handle it. Cheyenne gave me a run for my money. It was sheer luck I was able to flip her." Annabeth said. He nodded and then told me to go visit Rachel for my prophecy, since this was a quest.

"Annabeth, you and I must have a few words. And you Percy." Chiron said. His gaze made it obvious what he wanted to talk about.

"I don't have a clue where she is. I'll need a guide." I told him.

Suddenly, a dozen guys leapt up and grabbed for me. "I'll take you!" They were all shouting. Then I snagged Annabeth's arm.

"I'm taking the one who can keep those jackals off of me. Let's roll girlfriend." I said. Being a child of Athena, she made the instant connection and rolled her eyes, imitating me perfectly.

"Ugh, they are such man-whores." She agreed. We strutted away as if we were BFF's, leaving a mass of confused people behind us.

Once far enough away (as in out of sight) she unhooked her arm from mine and turned to face me. "Why did you just bail me out of a conversation with Chiron that most likely was going to have me on bathroom detail for the rest of the year?"

"Two reasons. One, I said I had to say something to you. I wasn't going to let Chiron talk to you first. I mean, I'm so stubborn that the only reason I'm a girl is because my father wanted a boy." This made her laugh. "And secondly, after what I have to say, I can defend you in front of Chiron and you probably won't end up on bathroom detail."

She looked at me curiously. "What did you want to tell me?"

I hesitated. It was a sensitive subject that I kept a deep secret and Percy refused to talk about it, saying it wasn't his story to tell. "Well, I was 13 and walking home from Karate Practice. I took my usual shortcut home, but what I didn't anticipate was that there were some people out to get me. Some particularly embarrassed, shunned admirers. It was a group of boys who all wanted to date me, but I'd just hit puberty and still had a small crush on Percy. So I turned them all down. That...that infuriated them to no end. And although I was a awesome fighter, first in my class, I couldn't take on 5 people at once. They…." I drew in a shuddering breath. Annabeth seemed to steal my power and read my mind.

"They didn't…" she trailed off.

"They did. Four of them held me down while they all took their turns. The fifth one never got his though. Percy was wondering why I was taking so long to meet him and he decided to look for me. He found them and…well, let's just say he's really protective of me and anyone else he loves. You're safe with him by his side." I finished. She seemed like she was about to pass out, she was so pale. Bleach white.

"And here I was, being petty." She whispered.

"Don't worry. I tend to get a rise out of most females. And males I can get mad if I try, but it's mostly females. I only get a sexual rise out of guys." I told her. "And, um, hey. Will you wait here for me? After an encounter with Rachel and the Oracle and then blubbering about my problems to you, I might need someone. Will you?"

"Oh. Yeah, sure." She replied. I thanked her and then went into Rachel's cave.

"Oh, so you got the quest? Cool beans." Rachel said. "C'mere, let me get you a prophecy." I thought it sounded weird, like she was getting me a textbook I'd forgotten and she agreed to lend me hers. She stood still for a moment, then green smoke billowed out of her mouth and her eyes glowed unnaturally. Then a voice that sounded like 3 of her spoke:

"_**To find the son of Death you go,**_

_**To make friend or foe,**_

_**You will leave alone,**_

_**But come back with bone,**_

_**Your deeds lay bare out for all to see,**_

_**You will accept the choice of the Son of the Sea**_."

With that, she collapsed. I caught her and helped her over to her couch. She didn't seem alright, but she shooed me away and lay down. I swore she was asleep before she was completely on the couch. I stood there for a moment, feeling awkward, but in the end, I left. When I next saw Annabeth, I only got to see her worried face and the start of her "What's wrong?" before I fell face-first into the dirt.


	4. The End Of the Beginning of the Quest

When I woke up, I was REALLY dizzy. Chiron was hovering over me. I wondered where the heck I was until I heard the thoughts of the sick around me. This must be an infirmary, I realized. I tried to sit up, but Chiron stopped me.

"Whoa there. What happened? Annabeth left with you, but came back dragging us your unconscious bod y." he asked concerned.

"I don't know. I talked with Annabeth on the way up there, she waited for me, I got a prophecy, I came back out, and the suddenly world just seemed darker. The last thing I remember is Annabeth saying 'what's wrong' them I collapsed." I told him.

"Well, it seems to be stress that's making you have feinting strikes." He told me. "I'm not sure you should be the one to go."

"It was my prophecy that stressed me out. I already know what one of the lines means, so I just freaked. I have to go." I told him. "Where's Annabeth?"

He looked at me funny. "She's in the main living room with the rest of the head counselors. Most of the Aphrodite cabin is quite upset with her. You might want to go calm things down."

I go up slowly, my head throbbing. I leaned on him for support and then hobbled my weary ass into the room. "Hey you guys." I said. They all looked up I surprise.

"Cheyenne! Oh, honey, are you hurt? What'd Annabeth do?" Drew demanded, hugging me. I pulled away from her. I found Annabeth and went to sit next to her.

"Oh my gods, what happened to you? I was so worried." she said.

"Relax, it was just stress. One of the lines freaked me out, it was nothing. Remember what I said before? About us?" I asked her expectantly. She nodded, looking confused.

I drew her close and whispered "Go sit by the lake with the naiads. I'll send Percy and you two can make up. Don't talk to anyone, just go. Understand?" She nodded. Then I shoved her off the couch and before she could hit the floor, she was up and to the door.

I turned to Percy and in the language we'd invented; I snapped "Get your butt to the canoe lake now. Don't come back until somebody doesn't want anybody dead."

Everyone looked at me weird and even weirder still when Percy obeyed whatever I'd said to him. I ignored them until Chiron came out. He made no comments on the missing people, just asked other heads to fill them in when they saw them. They all agreed and then turned to me expectantly.

"The prophecy?" Chiron asked politely.

I took a deep breath, suddenly unnerved again. "To find the Son of Death you go, to make friend or foe, you will go alone, but come back with bone, your deeds laid bare for all to see…"

"The last line?" Chiron prompted.

"You will accept the choice of the Son of the Sea." I whispered. Nobody said anything as I just sat there. It was somehow condemning to have everybody know my fate, but have no words of comfort.

"Well," Chiron said, "You should probably get going, shouldn't you? Who is going with you?"

"I'm going solo. The prophecy said I would." I replied. He nodded and dismissed me. I already knew my task. Find Nico di Angelo and drag him back here. I nodded and left the Big House. I jogged to my cabin and was gathering my crap when Drew burst in the door.

"What did you tell Jackson to do? You said something really weird in some kind of language and he just OBEYS you? What in Hades was that all about?" she demands. So apparently Drew wasn't as sweet as she looked.

"I'm entitled to secrets Drew. Butt out. Oh and guess what? You're talking to me without my rites of passage. The shoes of shame are yours." I told her, sugar dripping off my words. Shock and embarrassment flooded her face as I grabbed my still packed-up things and left. By the tree on the hill, Percy held a Pegasus with a bridle on. It was tossing its black head to and fro and Percy was having trouble keeping it under control. I approached cautiously.

"It's alright. He's just a bit spirited. Blackjack kind of adopted me after I rescued him and insists on repaying me with favors. So, as a favor, he's going to be your mount while you look for Nico. FYI, he likes doughnuts and sugar cubes. Give him those and he'll carry you anywhere." Percy told me. I nodded and put my things into the saddle bags someone had so thoughtfully provided. Once I swung up into the saddle, I turned to him and asked "So? How'd it go?" expectantly.

He smiled. _I don't know what you said to her_, he thought, _but it's enough to get her to forgive me_.

"I told her our story." I said softly. His smile tightened, but it never wavered as he bid me goodbye and I urged the Pegasus into the air. He whinnied and flew into the air, wings flapping determinedly.

I landed just outside of Tulsa. Nico's aura had led me here and I could sense he was close. I brought Blackjack a box of doughnuts and told him to stay hidden. I knew the Mist would protect him so long as I wasn't around, but if I needed a sudden getaway, there was nothing stopping a city full of mortals seeing a Pegasus. I patted him good naturedly and then bounded into town.

My supermegafoxyawesomehot-spidy senses were telling me that he was just wandering around aimlessly. I was about ten feet away when I saw him. I was just about to yell his name when I suddenly saw a knife whirling through the air.

"Nico, get down!" I screeched. I didn't know I could scream that loud or move that fast, but I did. I whipped through the air and slammed into him sideways and we went sprawling. He opened his mouth furiously to probably bitch me out, but the knife landed inches from his hand. His eyes widened and I dragged him away from the group of people gathering around us. He led me to a side alley and turned on me furiously.

"What are you doing here? How did you find me?" he demanded. I ignored him, doing my instinctive 360 to make sure this area was secure.

"None of your business. All I'm doing is making sure your dad doesn't call open season on us half-bloods. Would it kill you to check in with somebody so they can reassure your dad?" I finally replied, my senses still on overload. "Do you realize how close you came to seeing you dad again? And not because you willingly shadow traveled to his realm."

"I saw the knife." He grumbled. "I could have stopped it."

"I highly doubt that. You were completely oblivious to the fact that I was there, even though most males within twelve feet of me usually stare at me. I had to knock you down so you would even notice that I had tracked you down."

"Speaking of, why the hell are you tracking me? Why would they send a Daughter of Aphrodite?" He demanded again. I could tell he wasn't going to let up on this, but then again, neither was I.

"I'm allowed my secrets, just as you are. Everybody seems to think that all children of Aphrodite are shallow and self-absorbed. It never occurs to anyone that our mortal parent has some influence over our personalities."

"Yeah, well, at least you know your mortal parent." He mumbled.

"OH HADES NO! We are not going to get into that conversation here. Get your butt out of this alley and to the Pegasus before I kick it there. I am not falling for that stupid pity-me-my-mom-is-dead-I'm-a-poor-soul thing ever again. Percy pulled that on me and I haven't seen that dead thing since I was 13 ½."

"He did what?" Nico asked, amazed. I cursed under my breath. Zeus! I hadn't meant to blurt that out.

"Make you a deal. You come and SIT with me by Blackjack and I'll tell you the story." I offered. It was the best deal he was going to get because otherwise I was going to brain him and drag his carcass back to the camp.

He thought about it. "Just sit there?"

"Just sit there. After I hold up my end of the bargain, we'll talk about this small 'massacre the demigods' problem your dad's offering up if you aren't found by the end of the next 4 weeks." I promised.

"Never knew the old man would actually care about where the Hades I am." He muttered. "Okay, sure. I'll sit for this story and then we'll talk."

I nodded and led him to where Blackjack had hidden himself, keeping Nico in my sights. He was being truthful. He followed me willingly to the Pegasus and didn't try to run or attack me. Once we got there, I was confident, but there was a ball of lead in my stomach. I really didn't want to admit to the boy I was hunting down (and he was kinda hot) how easily one of his BFF's had played me when I was younger. That would only give him ideas and the last thing needed was to be using all of the time I had been given to hunt his stupid head and bring him back in the nick of time like during my evaluation.

"Kay, so what's this story about Percy?" he asked. He looked politely interested, but he was also cocky. He thought he was going to evade me again and that this was just a pretense. I could hear his thoughts echoing around. They were unlike any I'd ever heard before, somehow empty but full at the same time.

_Kay, a quick left, a right, then up the fire escape, there's a shadow there and I can shadow travel to somewhere else…_ He was thinking. I realized it was an escape plan. He knew there was no way he was beating me in a foot race, so he had to resort to shadow traveling away from me. What he didn't know was that there was no way he could outrun me because I could instinctively find him, no matter where he stood, even in death.

"Um, it was when I still lived in New York. He had thought his mom had died but she really hadn't and he was playing me for sympathy. It was also when everyone found out Luke was working for Kronos." I said offhandedly. He nodded, and then suddenly stood. I could almost see the plan in his head and planned a counterstrike for it. He made a move for the left then the right. I mimicked his movements, throwing his game off for a second. But then he fell backwards for a split second and I thought he was going to fall on his butt, but then I realized his dodge had been a move to get him closer to the shadows. I'd had us sat in the sun, but that extremely short dance right there had put him in the shadows and allowed him an escape.

Dammit! How the hell had he known that I knew what he was going to do? It was like he'd known I could read minds and had thrown a false plan in my face to confuse me. But it wasn't entirely false. I knew he preferred to come to Tulsa for some reason, so it only makes sense that he would have a home or a safe haven somewhere in this town. He'd taken me to an alleyway that he'd obviously known well, so that was where I was going to start.

I ran back into town and found the alleyway easily. I searched the alley and found a corner he'd made his own and marked as his. I searched his belongings. He favored Tulsa, Hong Kong, Delhi, Athens, Denver, and Saginaw. My 'aura taste' thingy-majigger was telling me that he was in Denver right now.

I sighed, frustrated. He couldn't have gone to Saginaw? I grabbed something to eat and another box of doughnuts to bribe Blackjack with. He was going to be none too happy with me when I told him we had to go to Denver.

I woke up, my back aching. I hated sleeping on the ground. Caused me back problems like there was no tomorrow. I woke Blackjack up and saddled him again. I could tell he didn't like the tack, but he had to have it. I DID NOT ride pegasi bareback. I hopped on him again and decided _what the hey_, I felt too tired to walk. And no decent person was gonna run home and scream to whoever would listen: _Hey! Guess what? I saw a Daughter of Aphrodite on the back of a black Pegasus!_ No, they were most likely going to say _I'm probably just tired. Pegasi don't exist and she's just a normal girl riding a black horse up the mountain._ They'd never guess I was hunting somebody down because he was a stubborn jackass who didn't give a rat's furry ass what happened to his fellow demigods.

I urged Blackjack to walk on as I trotted on the outskirts of town. Nico was deep in the town, in the middle of the sprawling metropolis. I sighed, then decided to brave the chances of people staring at me.

I didn't get as many stares as I thought I would, but I still go them. Nico was out in broad daylight now, so there was very few shadows. I also had a Pegasus. The chances of him evading me again were slim at best.

Suddenly I felt a spike of adrenaline I didn't recognize. Danger. Someone I knew was in danger. That had never happened before. Being a demigod, almost everyone I knew was in danger. I'd felt Percy's aura so much I had its particular feel memorized. I knew for a matter of a fact that he'd been in definite danger last year and yet I hadn't felt so much as a chill. Now it felt like there was a permanent cold breeze blowing across me as my senses went on overdrive, trying to search out what the problem was. My body was screaming at me to leave, run, to hide. But no. I had a feeling I knew who was in danger. I urged Blackjack into a gallop and he flew (not literally-I kept him on the ground) and wheeled at the simplest touch of the reins. I turned into a dangerous part of town and I saw Nico being pushed around by a group of teenage boys, obviously much larger than he was. The boys shoved him and waved a knife menacingly. Nico looked at it, unimpressed. I didn't blame him. That tiny switchblade was probably nothing compared to the weapons he'd encountered during the Second Titan War last year. I galloped up, breaking the circle they'd formed around Nico.

"Get out of here girlie. This is none of your business." One of them snarled.

"You threatening my little brother isn't my business? Boy, I so don't know what you've been smoking, but you can't afford to lose the brain cells. Put your small toy away and I won't wipe the ground with you." I snapped back chillingly.

Without warning, he pulled out a gun. I checked his thoughts and found it was empty, but he still pulled the hammer back on it and shoved it in my face. "I said leave girlie, or you ain't getting your little brother back."

"Hate to burst your bubble, but this isn't the first time I've had a gun pointed at me."

"And if you don't leave it'll be your last. Now, if you don't leave, I'll unload in your annoyingly hot face." He snarled.

"Do it. I dare you. Do it." I challenged. His triumphant smile faded. I'd called his bluff and now he couldn't pull the trigger because he'd look like a fool but he couldn't back down because he'd look like a wimp. I'd backed him into a corner with virtually one way out: he 'agreed' to let us go on the terms we never stepped foot on his turf again.

"Leave with your little boy and don't come back or I will. But I ain't any chick beater or killer." He said, disgusted.

"Ever heard that bible verse? 'H*** hath no fury like a woman's scorn?' It pretty much means don't piss off any woman. And buddy, you done pissed off the wrong woman. You won't do it the next time you see us or you'll find out what a woman's fury _really_ is. And trust me, you don't want that." I taunted, and then yanked Nico up onto the back on the Pegasus. I urged him into a run and we were away from that place in no time.

"What were you thinking Nico? Getting involved with those guys?" I asked. I had an exasperated tone, and to tell the truth I was kind of exasperated.

"I didn't do it on purpose. They tried to mug me and I told them to shove it." He replied, defensively. I just sighed and left it alone.

"Kay, no here's how this is gonna go down. You are gonna go back to the camp with me and prove to Chiron you are still alive so your dad doesn't fry all of us demigods. Then, you'll do whatever the hell he wants while I get as far away from there as possible. Okay?"

"Or what?" he asked, still sulking.

"Or you'll hear that bible verse again and I won't be unleashing my wrath on them dumbass boys. I'm a person you don't want to fight. Ask Percy how he got that scar on his hip and he'll tell you it was me." I snapped back. "Now stop sulking like a little girl and grow a pair. I don't want to be here anymore than you do. I got dragged away from my family for this and believe me, I would much rather be hunting with my dad or ditch surfing. But no, so suck it up buttercup. I'll chase you to hell and back if I have to, but one way or another, you are coming to Camp Half-Blood."

He just stared at me but I dragged him back to the Pegasus and threw him on it. I was going to have nothing of this. I was going to tie him to the horse if I had to. Before he had time to complain I was dragging him and Blackjack out of town. Nico's face turned mutinous.

"I don't want to go to that camp. I don't belong there. As long as my father is never welcome on Olympus, I will never feel comfortable among Olympian demigods. I may have a cabin there, but it isn't my home." He sneered at me. "You and your shallow, self-absorbed, conceited siblings will never understand this because your mother is perfect and accepted by everyone on Olympus, therefore all of the demigods accept you!"

I had no time to open my mouth to scream that he was wrong. He turned and jumped into a shadow. Even though I was pissed at losing him again, I knew that this was taking a toll on him. Every time I caught up with him, he shadow traveled away. Like all amazing Big Three powerful demigods, it was tiring him out. If I chased him enough, he would get so tired he would pass out. And then all I had to do was find him while he was unconscious and then the little stupid son of Hades was not going to get away while Blackjack was flying.

Checking my sixth (or was it seventh?) sense, I found he had gone to Saginaw. Finally. I mounted Blackjack and urged him into a gallop. I had just barely cleared the town and he leapt into the air, the wind catching his wings, throwing him lightly into the air. He flew as fast as he could, but we still only made it to Chicago by nightfall. I groaned, but nevertheless found an alleyway and spread my bedroll. I closed my eyes and tried to get some shut eye.

I awoke to alarmed whinnies and neighs as I saw Blackjack trying to defend me against four boys trying to get to me. They looked like your standard pasty-white-wannabe-gangstas, their pants half-way down to china. They all had a tattoo over their eyebrows that looked like a super-badass-ninja-throwing star. I stood and calmed Blackjack, who was neighing angrily at the boys.

"Chill your horse thing out right now before we kill it!" one of them snapped at me.

"Shh, boy. Thank you. Percy would be proud of you. Thank you." I murmured. I was having really bad flashbacks of when I was coming back from Karate practice and I knew Percy wouldn't be here to protect me. I mean, don't get me wrong, I can kick someone's buttwhen going one on one, but still. There were four of them!

I stood trembling, trying to tighten my girth on the Pegasus saddle without then noticing. One of them did, grabbing my wrist painfully.

"What the h*** are you doing ho? You don't just waltz onto our turf and try to take off after your weird-thing horse tries to attack us."

"He was just trying to protect me. He's territorial of me. I didn't know this was your turf, I'm from New York." I told him in a shaking voice.

"Well then you probably should know the consequences of standing on our turf. You have a debt to pay now. To all of us."

I really didn't like where his thoughts were going with this.

"No, I don't. Try to touch me and I'll whoop your ass." I told him, trying to scrape together whatever courage I could muster. I was slowly being paralyzed by fear. They could see it and advanced upon me, causing me to stumble into Blackjack. I held onto him for life. When one tried to jerk me into him, I swung my leg over Blackjack's back. He neighed and reared up, kicking at them. He leapt over them and ran for the exit of the alleyway. He didn't make it there. There were suddenly 20 people in front of the alleyway exit. He skidded to a halt.

"I told you that you owed each of us a debt. Time to pay up." One growled. I was struggling for and escape route when the last word he'd said hit me. _Up_. I snapped "Blackjack, UP!" just as one lunged for me. Blackjack gathered his strength and threw himself into the air. He literally galloped up the side of the building and unfurled his wings, flapping steadily. I crossed the Chicago city line, still shaking and stroking Blackjack's neck.

"Thank-you so much baby boy," I crooned, "I'm going to kill Percy if he doesn't spoil you after this."

Blackjack whickered happily and sped up. We landed in Saginaw around noon. I told Blackjack to fly around randomly and wait for my whistle. He whinnied and jumped into the air, flying away. I reached deep into my pocket to feel for my switchblade. I normally only used it for gutting a deer when I was hunting and that was the deal I'd made in order to get it (that it never touches human flesh), but I was seriously worried that I might have to break that deal, then never let my dad find out. Blackjack had put me in a very dangerous area of Saginaw and every sideways glance I was getting was putting me on edge.

Luckily I found Nico in a better part of Saginaw and he was sitting on a park bench, scuffing his foot on the ground. I silently approached him and sat next to him on the bench. His eyes were dark as if he was suffering through something in silence. I left him there, unwilling to speak. It was obvious our last meeting hadn't left either of us in a good mood and he really didn't want to talk to me.

"What do you want now?" he asked, not looking at me.

"I want to talk. Just talk. Now I really don't care what you do because my home is literally an hour away and I just want to run home and hug my dad if he's home. I want to argue with my sisters and mouth off to my mom. I want to hug the teddy-bear I got when I was nine and I want to go into Owosso and stay with my grandma and work on arts and crafts. I don't want monsters to hunt me down. All I want right now is for my biggest worry to be is the horny dogs in my math class. But no. I just happen to be the only Daughter of Aphrodite with the most exceptional tracking skills on the planet and I have to hunt down the most stubborn jackass ever born. So please, stop sulking long enough to look at me and hear me out." I said quietly. He was surprised by my tone turned his face slightly.

"What do you have to worry about in your perfect little bubble? What color nail polish is new? Are your boots so last season? Did you forget to order your entire wardrobe from the spring edition of the Hollister magazine?" he asked, quietly sarcastic.

"That's stereo typical. I'm not like my siblings. I'm not afraid to hunt down a deer, kill it, and gut it with my bare hands and personal when all of the broken down Chevy's in the neighborhood fly through the mud pit. I like it when all of the neighborhood boys try to throw me . I like to break out the surfboard Percy got me and have my sisters pull me from behind the golf cart. I like to stand close up a into the mud pit and instead I end up whooping them. I hate it when every male who thinks I'm a girlie girl tries to get into my pants because they think all I like to do is boasting that I'm a good in bed. My life is far from perfect Nico, almost as damned up as yours is. Don't ever think that I have it good because I don't."

He sat there quietly. I could tell I'd surprised him. It was silent for a long time until he muttered "I'm sorry."

I turned my face to the sky. "Nico, you need to come back to camp. Everyone is frantic. Heck, I hadn't even met you and I didn't like the thought of a fellow demigod out there with no backup. I don't care how well trained you are, you can always use help. Percy constantly has my back and we're both damn good fighters. Please, if you won't listen to reason, then at least Iris-message them and tell them why you won't come back and promise to make regular check-ins. They're concerned about you Nico. That's what family does when one of their own has been missing in action for a few weeks. You may not like it, but they are your family. Just like how the Olympians are your dad's family, whether he likes it or not."

"Why are you just so reasonable? I've left you twice and both times I felt a guilt I usually don't when I shadow travel. I didn't like leaving you out there when you hadn't done anything to provoke me. I didn't like the fact that I was leaving you to the mercy of monsters when I could have just as easily agreed to go to camp and then leave again. Why are you just so…you?" he asked, frustrated.

I gave a small smile. "Our past makes who we are. As the most peaceful one in my family, I'm usually the mediator. I have to see both sides of the argument and decide who's right. I have to understand why people do the things they do. I have to hear their pain when they get hurt. I have to feel their depression when they get dumped. I have to experience their lives with them in silence. While they can reach out for help, I can't. It's like a curse that I have to suffer in silence. There are skeletons in every family closet and none rattle louder than mine. I've had a past I'm reluctant to talk about even with the one person I trust most in this life. I distrust the gods because they have their own personal agendas and could care less about helping us. I try to live my life the best I can but the truth is that there's little my mom didn't give me and it makes my life a living hell. I try to pretend different, but I can't. That's why I'm me. Because if the world were a better place, me and those after me won't have to deal with this."

"I can't argue with that." He replied ruefully. "I feel all mortal 'sins', I feel every mortal death. I can hear their lives passing like the blinking of and eye and I can hear every hope they ever had be added to the Styx. My life is just as hellish as yours."

"So will you come back? Even if it's just overnight? They need to know their cuz is safe. Set Percy at ease. Let me go home."

He smiled back at me. "I can't argue with that. Let's go home."

I smiled in relief and let out a shrill whistle. Blackjack swooped out of the air and landed in front of us. I took his sword and tucked it into the saddle bags, then mounted the Pegasus. He climbed up after us and I asked Blackjack to take us home.


	5. Drew Gets Tormented

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson, sadly.**

Having a hot, emo demigod of Hades can really make you self conscious. We flew in silence making it awkward.

"So…"he said, breaking the silence. I felt his warm breath on my neck. He shifted uncomfortably_. This isn't going well; I need to get out before we reach camp…so when the sun is setting I can escape through her shadow!_ I smirked. He had no idea we were stopping for the night.

"Don't you even think about it," I said. He looked genuinely confused. His tussled hair looking tussled and he raised an eyebrow, trying to be innocent. But I saw the mischievous glint in his eyes. I smiled. "I know what you're hiding."

"Okay, I give up. What is your super power thingy?" Nico made little firework motions with his hands. He leaned to escape to the shadow of billboards. He didn't to seem to keep his promise well. I smirked again. _Okay, so this girl as a good sense that's it, right? Okay, be calm, be sensible, and be strong as Hades. _

We rode Blackjack in silence, causing more awkwardness. I became aware that Nico's thoughts were very uh, prisoner-like. He kept thinking of the ways to escape, keeping an open mind and a cool look but on the inside he was hyperventilating. _Breathe in, out, in, out, how I am going to escape?_

"You should try to stop hyperventilating," I said. He blushed the tiniest bit making his cheeks a pale rosy pink. He sulked for the rest of the way through. Blackjack whinnied and swooped into a 70 degrees dive making Nico shriek like a girl. Blackjack swooped a full circle around Peleus and landed next to Thalia's Tree. The sun was setting and Percy saw Nico and ran forward to meet us. I pushed Nico forward and clasped my necklace, my senses going on over time. He had blank thoughts like _the edge, the edge, the edge; I'm on the edge of gloooory._ I raised an eyebrow.

"The edge?" That made him blush even darker. I dragged him by the hand and he let go. All of a sudden the shadow of the pine tree got darker and he disappeared. Percy just stood there astounded. I got so pissed a let out a stream of Greek cuss words and all of the others I could think of. Blackjack was covered in donut powder unaware of the scene.

"Come on, at least we saw him, my queen, I mean we could send an Iris message to him. We never thought of that. We were being stupid," Percy said in obvious attempts to comfort me. "You can stay here for a few days and then get back fully restored, ready to track his aura." He hugged me and Annabeth frowned from over the hill. I ran to meet her. I felt like I was on the verge of tears. I, the best tracker in camp had lost the stupid hell-loving son of Hades. _I'm a failure in this quest. _

"I tracked Nico up to Tulsa and he shadowed away. Then I followed him to Chicago and he disappeared into a pebble shadow! I rode on Blackjack till' I reached Saginaw, I was doing fine, then made him understand me and I flew here with Nico and when the sun was setting he disappeared into the tree!"

_So that little daughter of the love goddess failed, eh?_ Annabeth shared a look with Percy and I glared at her. "Oh by the way, I can read minds," I said smugly. Annabeth blushed; put an arm through Percy's, stuck her nose into the air and walked with him back to the cabins. Percy looked over his shoulder and said_, Hey, don't be sad. Nico will be back. Annabeth is just in a state of jealousy of a beautiful daughter of Aphrodite childhood friend with extraordinary powers. _

_I hope so. _

_He'll get tired of the chase eventually, my queen._

_But how long? I'm just a daughter of Aphrodite. _I walked slowly behind him, following to keep in touch with thoughts.

_An extraordinary one. And Nico can only shadow travel for so long. Remember, Big Three powers take big toll on our energy. I've never seen Annabeth so…jealous. She has a good reason, my queen. _With that he winked at me and raced Annabeth to the pavilion. Apparently this was a different side of Annabeth. I sprinted to my cabin. I fell face-first on the bed, out of energy. All the Aphrodite kids looked at my sceptically. They cowered as if I had the plague. They were all on the guys' side of the room which wasn't much better. It was still pink but it smelled like deodorant and guy perfume.

Finally Drew came up to me and sneered. "Is the emo guy back? Because I could extend your quest and tell him to run away." _With me . _As if. I rolled my eyes.

"When will you ever learn? The shoes of shame are yours." Drew gasped and I suddenly held her down. _GASP!_ The whole of Aphrodite cabin gasped. The boys snickered. They didn't want to wear the shoes of shame so the kept there distance. Slowly I made her hair messy. My cabin mates' gazes intensified. I removed her pink makeup and replaced it with red around the edges to make her look like she was crying. I tore her clothes a little bit and there she was. With smudged lipstick. I pushed her out of the cabin with the shoes of shame. The boys in the clearing stared_. My work here is done. _

When I walked away I heard her screaming and a bunch of boys…somewhere. Probably hates the shoes of shame. I thought I should go to report to Chiron. I probably should.

~"~"~"~"~

"I've been waiting for you," Chiron said. He was waiting at the Big House the whole time. His eyes were a bit angry and his aura was feverish. I went straight into report mode.

"After I left camp I tracked Nico to Tulsa, but he escaped, then to Chicago where I saved him." Chiron raised an eyebrow at that but didn't say anything which was making my nervous. He was listening to me intently. "Then to Saginaw, where I got him all the way to The Pine tree. Then Percy saw him and he shadow traveled. I think I can put up a wild goose chase until he is tired out." Chiron simply nodded and trotted into the Big House without saying a word. Just then a shadow erupted from a brazier, swirling like flames. A dark shape like a Kindly One approached, made of the burning ash.

_You have three days to find him half-blood...or else. I hope Percy has chosen well, for it would be a shame to have your pretty face down in the Fields of Punishment along with all the other little half-bloods. Remember my warning!_ Hades's voice echoes along the camp, directed to me. Chiron came out of the Big House, ashen-faced.

~"~"~"~"~

I visited Blackjack in the horse stables.

"I wonder why I've never been able to read animals' minds," I said as I fed Blackjack sugar coated hay. It's a new invention of mine. Melted down sugar, then dipped hay into it and it dried. A very special extra treat for Blackjack. Sometimes I give it to him with apple cinnamon muffins. I concentrated really hard…._Hey boss two_, _when are we gonna catch some Hades scum? Er, no offence to Hades. _ I raced to the Athena cabin.

**Review! What do you think? Review! Click the pretty little blue button!  
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	6. We Find An Island

**I apologize for the wait, I got sick right before camp, then my friend moved and then I went to the library. So I also had a soccer tournament. Which we won! But anyways, here is the long awaited chapter. Voila!  
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**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO. **

_Sigh_. Annabeth refuses to help once she understood that little miss perfect was _not_ to be underestimated. Everyone else looked too scared to stray into her path. Oh well. Can't be helped if Wise Girl gets ever so jealous. Boo hoo. Yeah right, she probably wants to gut me like a fish, then serve me up chopped up, sushi style. But I must not think about Annabeth, and Percy.

Blackjack swerved around New York as I looked for Death Breath's ghostly aura. Finally, when I found him I internally groaned. My heart pounded and I imagined myself in a cheongsam. (type of dress) "Come on Blackjack, we're going to China." I landed Blackjack on the street where Toronto Airport was located, at least that's was the signs said. I heard hissing, as thumps hit the ground.

"Our Massstersssssss will reward ussss greatly." Styx! Emposai, servants of Hecate. I knew this place was full of ancient magic because of the large, Chinatown.

"Quick to the air!" I hurried Blackjack away and we soared. The emposai were just below us. Or should I say had a Pegasus of their own. Do monsters usually ride Pegasi? I didn't know. Anyways the emposai both climbed on the Pegasi and dug their sharp heels into his side. The chestnut brown pegasi whinnied and her eyes bulged out as she took a steep dive to a soaring flap of her wings. They were on our tail. We were zooming through the streets of San Francisco. I saw a highway running through large mountain.

"Quick Blackjack go through the tunnel, we might have time to rest there for now. "

~"~"~"~

I leaned against the side of the tunnel, the other side ending in pitch black darkness. Blackjack was eating some grass that grew at the edge of the tunnel. I looked around, taking in my surroundings.

I was in a regular old highway. Cars zoomed by, but I saw a Greek Theta in dirty mud plastered onto the wall. It was hardly noticeable since it looked old, _old. _

"Who goes there!" Someone at the other end of the tunnel shouted. The voice was a girl's and melodic. I drew my dagger and bows, and cautiously approached the end of the tunnel.

"I do," I said in a warm voice, almost enchanting. Just then the emposai were back! I heard quick latin words exchanged at the mouth of the end of the tunnel. The emposai brought some friends. The emposai were flanked by 3 hellhounds, and a dozen or so dracaena.

"A little help here?" I asked but it might've been useless anyways. Someone cursed and footsteps bounded up the sides of the walls. About half a dozen figures in gladiator armour rushed to meet them, using moves I had never seen. They parried, lunged, kicked using all there might. I joined in, taking half of the dracaena. After I drew my bow and pointed it at them. "W-Who are you?" I asked.

"Are you a half-blood? You are a little old to start training." Come with us.

"I-I can't. I have my own quest to take."

"Issued from whom?" A girl about my age had breathtaking beauty, her voice cascaded off the walls which sounded like a tinkling bell, soft and strong. Knowing, usually when someone was either really pretty or pretty ugly then it would be a god or monster.

"Sorry, my mommy doesn't let my talk to strangers," I said as innocently as I could. "I was just heading to the mall across the highway. It has the awesomest stores! Don't you ever go there? I mean, I beautiful red-head like you, huh?" She blushed.

"Well, it's genetics, um, my mom's side."

"Don't girls take on their dads? I mean there was this woman whose last name meant; prettiest of the doves. Doesn't that sound like that goddess in fifth grade? I mean, not like she was that pretty, I mean Artemis must have more admirers for her down-to-earth personality." It got the reaction I'd hoped for if she really was my sister. Her ever so perfect face turned the same angry red as her hair.

"Never speak that way about the best goddess, with the best half-bloods! Like you would know what I mean. Never, and I mean _never _insult my mother." She suddenly turned very pale, making her freckles look bright and none too dotted cheeks pale.

"Sure…What were those things? I was heading to archery after. You know what, I don't want to know." I made eye contact, she shivered involuntarily and ran too Blackjack who was waiting at the entrance of the tunnel, cars zooming by. _Hey Boss! Who was that freaky chick? She looked sort of like you._

"Yeah, let's forget about that, let's go," I whispered to him. I just realized the striking resemblance between us was very noticeable. She had red hair and eyes that changed in cool colours. My eyes were the neutral colours; purple, brown, green, and sometimes silver. Her eyes at the time, flared a metallic teal that was rimmed with silver. We were internal opposites. She wore nail polish in striking pink with lips to match, glossed in sparkly, none too subtle vivid lipstick.

Whoever those people were, I wanted to believe it never happened. They used a mixture of martial arts and sword techniques, to achieve immense power in their techniques.

We were flying across the aquamarine ocean, gliding along the cool breeze. The wind whipped my hair, Blackjack neighing for sugar cubes. _Please! I'm getting tired, I can glide when I sleep but I need height, but you mortals can't withstand that, so we need to land. _I rummaged through my backpack and found a flashlight, a change of clothes, a comb, a jacket, an umbrella, and some sugar cubes.

I gazed at the horizon, where earth meets sky. As we approached the waves Blackjack gave a great thrust of his wings and we were off again. The sun dipped lower and lower until only a wisp of its rays were visible against the brilliant red sky, strongly reminding me of the girl. Darkness approached the sun, consuming its warmth.

With our luck, an island appeared visible with the rising moon. Blackjack circled for a long time like an eagle. We landed and as I said, "Come on Blackja-_PLONK_" A ringing sound vibrated in my head. I heard Blackjack neighing and felt someone grab my arms.

"She can join us once she has given birth. She will sacrifice the Pegasus to Hera in honour of her joining!" At that I spluttered, wondering where I was, but the only thing I could think of was the pounding in my head when I tried to think. "She seems strong, she will be a fine warrior of the…AMAZONS!" Cheers and slams echoed across the room, my head pounded.

My last thought before blacking out was; Amazons who treated men as dogs, following Artemis. But my head was stabbed by the entire underworld until I finally fell unconscious. Blackness.


	7. AN

Hi guys(the few who read my story), I just know you're going to not like this. As you've probably noticed, I haven't updated much, well to be frank, at all. I'm EXTREMELY sorry about it. I WON'T leave it unfinished, but I'm definitely going to take a break from this story. Up to now, I've been telling myself 'next week I'll update' a bunch of times. I'm so sorry you guys. I seriously can't write at the moment. School and life hate me majorly. I can't find the time to write, and when I do, I just can't do it. I'm still writing, I just can't do it on time. I can't have deadlines right now. For all of you looking at this saying "WHAT?" Don't worry, I'm just writing the whole story out before uploading EVERYTHING, for for me I think it's an easier way to write stories. I'll do it slowly but for those on alert it won't be so bad. I promise, i will, that I'll finish this story. ~blessedbyartemis11 


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